Media

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Malcom X

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Malcom X

In the Media Studies department, we aim to equip students with the skills and understanding which will help them to understand the messages being sent – and often manipulated – by the mass media. As such, we value a rigorous analytical approach to the subject, allowing students to understand the effects of the media on society. This approach is based on the fundamental values of rigour, hard work, and a strict adherence to deadlines, all of which allow our students to achieve their potential in the subject.

Key Stage 3

In Years 7 to 9, Media Studies forms a part of the national English curriculum. Each year, students will study one unit of work on the media in preparation for Key Stage 4.

Key Stage 4

Our GCSE Media Studies specification nurtures students’ ability to formulate their own responses to the range of media that saturates modern life – both old and new. It also encourages students to develop their opinions on how the media represents the world.

A choice of practical activities means that you can select according to your personal expertise, students’ interests, or based on the equipment available at your school or college.

Our GCSE Media Studies enables students to critically evaluate texts and prepares them well for AS and A-level study in any discipline.

From September 2017 we will be teaching the New AQA specification. This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams and submit all their non-exam assessment at the end of the course.

The core content will teach students about the four key concepts of the media industry:

Media language

Media representations

Media industries

Media audiences

Assessments

What’s assessed

Questions will focus on three areas of the theoretical framework: industries, audiences and representation. There will be a balanced approach to these three areas of the theoretical framework in that Section A will focus on industries and audiences whilst Section B will deal with the representations.

How it’s assessed

· Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes

· 84 marks

· 35% of GCSE

Questions

· Multiple choice questions assessing breadth of knowledge.

· Short answer questions assessing in depth knowledge.

· An extended response question assessing in depth knowledge.

Paper 2

What’s assessed

Questions will focus on media language and contexts of the media.

Students will be expected to analyse media products both in relation to the theoretical framework and their contexts.

Section A will focus on language and Section B will focus on contexts.

Like any other GCSE, AS, or A Level course, Media Studies requires students to work in their own time to reinforce what they have learned in class. At GCSE level, students should expect to receive around an hour of homework per week. At AS and A Level, students are expected to be doing around five hours of independent work every week for the subject. In most cases, this homework will take the form of structured tasks set by the classroom teacher. However, in these Media Studies courses there is also the opportunity to complete aspects of the coursework assignments outside school hours, meaning that students are not restricted by the school setting when making film or other media. In addition to the work set, students are also expected to keep up-to-date with developments in the media – useful background knowledge can be built up by reading newspapers and magazines, and watching TV and film critically.

Media Studies AS / A Level

Exam Board OCR

Media Studies gives you the opportunity to answer questions like these by studying a wide range of media – films, television, magazines, newspapers, websites, computer games, advertising, radio, and even comics. Whilst studying some of these, you will also start to learn about how they are produced, as well as their impact on the people who consume them. You will learn how the media – from TV news to Heat magazine – influence the world around you.

From September 2017 we will be teaching the New AQA specification. This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams and submit all their non-exam assessment at the end of the course.

The OCR AS Level in Media Studies introduces learners to the influence of the media. The role and impact of the media on society, culture, politics and the economy in both domestic and global spheres will be considered. Learners will develop their understanding through the consistent application of the four elements of the theoretical framework:

Media language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

Media representations: how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups

Media audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves.

The breakdown of the course is outlined below:

OCR’s AS Level in Media Studies

Written paper 70% of total AS level

Learners will explore, through the use of all four aspects of the theoretical framework, how the media language of media products construct different representations and how media products are used by institutions to communicate messages to different media audiences.

Creating mediaNon-exam assessment 30% of total AS

Learners will practically explore the creation of a television advert.

Learners will explore how media products are used by institutions to construct different representations and how media audiences interpret these products. Learners will use aspects of the theoretical framework to analyse and evaluate their own cross-media productions.

Written paper Media in a digital age 40% of total A level

Learners will explore and analyse the ideas and arguments from debates about the media. These debates will be drawn from: a historical perspective, the digital age and global media.

Making media Non-exam assessment (NEA) 30% of total A’ Level

Learners will practically explore the creation of three linked media products in a cross-media production.

A-Level Media Studies is an industry-recognised qualification, and so offers students the chance to go straight into employment in the industry. It is also a subject which is highly compatible with many others in the curriculum because of the training it provides in independent and critical thinking and analysis.

Like any other GCSE, AS, or A Level course, Media Studies requires students to work in their own time to reinforce what they have learned in class. At GCSE level, students should expect to receive around an hour of homework per week. At AS and A Level, students are expected to be doing around five hours of independent work every week for the subject. In most cases, this homework will take the form of structured tasks set by the classroom teacher. However, in these Media Studies courses there is also the opportunity to complete aspects of the coursework assignments outside school hours, meaning that students are not restricted by the school setting when making film or other media. In addition to the work set, students are also expected to keep up-to-date with developments in the media – useful background knowledge can be built up by reading newspapers and magazines, and watching TV and film critically.

Daniel Friell: “studying Media at JRCS has been really beneficial for my next steps into the further and higher education. I was able to technically and theoretically apply the knowledge I had gained at A ‘Level. I really enjoyed my time at JRCS and it enabled me to become confident in studying Media and Production at University.”

Extra-Curricular Activities

The department offers film club to Year 8 students which is run by the Year 12 media students. Film club allows students to watch, analyse and create their own films from various genres.

At the core of our approach to marking at JRCS is task marking.

In non-practical subjects one substantial piece of work will be task marked at least once every eight hours of teaching. Students will respond to the tasks and they will be checked by staff. In between that time students’ work may be peer or self-assessed or briefly checked by staff.

It is likely the same piece of work will be assessed for literacy. Staff will mark work using the literacy marking code:

Sp

spelling mistake

P

punctuation mark missing or incorrectly used

Voc

incorrect use of vocabulary

^

word missed out of sentence

~

unclear meaning or grammar within a sentence

//

new paragraph required

CL

capital letter error

Levelling and Assessment

KS3

To develop a growth mindset and reflect ‘life after levels’ work in KS3 books will not usually be levelled; assessment will be formative and highlight how students can improve. Students will record areas of strength and development on their ‘reflection sheets’ which will be at the front or back of the book. At the end of each term a level is reported for students in each subject, which reflects all their work over that term. These are found on students’ pale yellow progress cards, which are stuck into their planners. These cards show students whether they are in line to meet their end of key stage target. With the move away from National Curriculum levels, the school is trialling a new ‘skills thermometer’ and 1 to 9 levelling in English. Other KS3 subjects will be using NC levels for the remainder of this year.

KS4

KS4 practice exam questions and mock exams are likely to be graded. This work might not be in student books. Students will record grades and areas of strength and development in their ‘reflection sheets’ which will be at the front or back of the book. All students receive an attainment and predicted grade at the end of each term. These are found on their pale yellow progress cards, which are stuck into their planners. These cards show students whether they are in line to meet their end of key stage target.

KS5

At KS5 students take a series of VIMAs (Sixth Form Milestone Assessments) during their course. Students receive developmental comments to help them improve their work. Each VIMA result includes four parts: the grade for that assessment, a comparison of the grade with their expected progress grade (EPG), a Learning Capability mark and a prediction of their end of year grade (PEG). The outcomes of these assessments and other graded work will be in student folders. They are also sent home to parents. A summary of VIMA marks and the students’ expected progress grade is also recorded in their planner.